Bleep wrote:As can be seen with any internet google search, gunpowder will burn underwater, in space, and in other non-standard environs. With this in mind, it is a simple matter to note that any standard gunpowder-based weapon would work perfectly fine in space.

gunpowder can burn underwater because H2O CONTAINS OXYGEN. find me a LINK to evidence of gunpowder burning in space, and i'll give it some thought.

and of course, yes you could fire pressurized steam/oxygen into space. which, due to the fact that there is zero pressure, gas would expand infinitely and disperse throughout space. the flame jet WOULD reach the target no problem, but then it'd more or less instantaneously leave. and don't try to throw in that the lower heat would condense them to solid oxygen (which would burn like a sun), because space is slightly warmer than 0k.

also, Rody, why'd you include nitrogen? yes i meant H2 and O2 (hey, it was early morning for me (early meaning 7)), but i didn't want to go through the trouble of tiny text.

that was not nitrogen
, just n wich is like x or y etc. it is a number, fill it in and you will see it to be correct.

2CnH2n+2 + 3n+1O2 -> 2nCO2 + 2n+2H2O

now if we for example take n=3
then this will get:
2C3H8 + 10O2 -> 6CO2 + 8H2O

which is the total combustion of propane.

and H2O does contain some dissolved oxygen, yes. but the concentration of this is far too low to allow things to burn, especially as violently as is the case in gunpowder.
and to get the O out off H2O you would either need electrolysis or thermolysis the later only starts to occur at over 2000 degrees celcius.
neither of them occur during the combustion of gunpowder.

besides ever looked inside a gun? it is practically airtight so most of your expanding gasses don't escape in ways you don't want them to, which would reduce the guns effectiveness, instead it is made so that all of the expanding gasses drive your bullet forward.

Last edited by Rody on Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Act first, then think, then try to find a way to cover up the horrible mess you made.
Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes

through the head? if it takes out the brain, you win. i'd like a little bit of a STRONGER crossbow than the one i have if i were doing that, but crossbows are totally effective anti-zombie weapons. mainly because they're silent projectiles. no gunshot = no loud noise = no army of hungry ghouls.

* a nitrate—typically potassium nitrate (KNO3)—which supplies oxygen for the reaction;
* charcoal, which provides fuel for the reaction in the form of carbon (C);
* sulfur (S), which, while also a fuel, lowers the temperature of ignition and increases the speed of combustion.

4 KNO3 → 2 K2O + 2 KNO2 + 5 O2

all explosive mixtures have every component already in it's mixture. only then can they react fast enough.

please remember that even though during the reaction it is possible to get such temperatures, the thermolysis would be rather slow, and your ignition source would also need to reach such temperatures.
also steel melts at around 1600 degrees celcius wouldn't that be somewhat of a designing flaw if your gun works at that temp??

Act first, then think, then try to find a way to cover up the horrible mess you made.
Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes

but rockets = terrible terrible TERRIBLE vs. zombies. again, zombies have no bodily organs or fluids to disrupt other than their disfigured brains. explosions would need to send chunks of shrapnel THROUGH the brain (which is a VERY small target) to actually kill a zombie. this is best explained in the book World War Z, where artillery fire rained down on hordes of advancing zombies. only about 1/4 of them died. and that's WITHOUT water to slow down projectiles.

as for underwater eradication, the only real thing to do is to just ignore zombies in deep water unless they come to land, and clear out lakes and harbors by sending down guys in personalized dive suits (and i mean those fatty hard plastic shells, none of this wussy SCUBA crap) with spear guns and whatnot.